DIY Patio Table

June 26, 2014

One of the features that sold hubby and I on this house was the GIANT backyard. Plenty of space to entertain our friends and family. Coming from a small house with a tiny back patio (not a backyard), our furnishings for the space were rather sparse. Slowly, over the last 3 years, we’ve managed to accumulate a few pieces. Some lounge chairs for by the pool. Umbrellas to help with the scorching Arizona sun. A freebie table and chairs from hubby’s bro and sis-in-law. I was super excited about the table and chairs because that meant lovely dinners alfresco! Or so I thought. I quickly realized there were 2 problems. 1) The table only sat 4, which works fine for just the 2 of us, but not if we had family over. 2) 80% it is too hot to sit outside in the sun! That’s when I decided that what we really needed was a large table for under the patio. Here’s where Pintrest comes in.

A DIY (and cheap) table, complete with instructions (Sorry! Link is no longer active)! I read through and decided that it looked easy enough and I would give it a shot. So with the help of my trusty good wood selector (a.k.a. Dad), I headed to Home Depot to get what I needed. Her instructions call for using 2×8 which definitely make her table sturdier. I decided I didn’t want my table to be that thick, and since we weren’t going to use it as much as our regular table (meaning less wear-and-tear), I went with 1x8s instead and built a frame underneath for support.

Then I drilled pocket holes and added the support slats.

The legs for the table are LERBERG from IKEA. They don’t come with pre-drilled holes for attaching to a top. I guess whatever top you buy is just supposed to sit freely on the legs. That made me nervous, so I drilled my own holes and mounted the table legs.

Then I sanded everything down really well, stained it, added a few coats of poly and I was done!

I made the table 8 feet long so it can comfortably seat 8 (I only had 6 decent looking chairs for this picture. Guess I have to go shopping!)

Definitely would be sturdier with 2x8s, but as long as no one decides to dance on the table I think we’ll be OK.

And for my own little bit of personalization:

The wood cost me about $70 and the table legs were $10 each. So for less than $100 I have a beautiful dining table big enough to fit our families! I have family coming over on Friday for dinner. We’ll be eating outside, under the shade of the patio, on a nice, big table. Yay!